Gnomes!

 Registration is open for our Santa Gnomes workshop with Mandy. Register here.

4th Annual Story Writing Contest

Our 4th annual Write the Hook story writing contest for Teens, in grades 6 to 12, is open for entries! Write your hook for a story. What do we mean by hook? A hook is the beginning lines or pages of a story written to hook the reader's attention. An irresistible hook impels the reader to want to find out what happens next. We can't wait to read this year's entries!

 Link to the Online Entry Form 

  🖉🖉🖉  Contest Rules  🖉🖉🖉

• Write the hook for the beginning of something longer; for the start of a story.
• Open to teens in grades 6 to 12, who are residents of Essex County in Massachusetts.
• Entry must be your original work. AI and other forms of it will not be tolerated or accepted; we reserve the right to request further evidence of original work if we suspect that a submission was made with AI. 
• Entry must have a word count between 300(minimum) and 1,200(maximum)words.  
• Maximum of 1 entry per author.
• Give your story hook a title. 
• Entries due by midnight, Tuesday, December 31, 2024.
  

The preferred method for story submission is via the online contest entry form. 

Entries are accepted in paper form, but your story hook must be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font on 8.5"x 11" paper. If you submit your entry on paper you must include on the back of the last page: your first and last name, grade level, phone number, email, and word count. Paper entries that do not follow the above guidelines will be disqualified.

Our contest judges use a rubric that scores points based on:

• Length: Is the entry between the minimum and maximum word count?
• Story Hook: Does the writing hook you? Do you want to find out what happens next?
• Character(s): Are character(s) clearly described?
  
• Writing: Does the word choice convey a clear picture? 
• Grammar: How is the spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.?
• Creativity!: original ideas? surprising? imaginative?

 $ Cash Prizes to be Awarded $

Prizes are funded by the Friends of the Hamilton-Wenham Library.

First $60, and Second $40, place cash prizes will be awarded to: 

Writers in Grades 6-8

Writers in Grades 9-12

Contest winners and any honorable mentions will be announced in January 2025, both on this blog and individually to the winners. Winning stories, along with author's name and grade level, will be published here on the Library's Informed Teens blog.

2024 Graffiti Art Contest Winners

Eight paintings were entered in this summer's Graffiti Art Contest. All were painted at our Graffiti Art workshop held on June 27. Since then the paintings have been on display in the teen area for viewing and voting. 106 votes were cast in 3 categories: Originality, Best Use of Color, and Best Design. The tallies were close. Violet Adler received the most votes for Originality. Soren Collins received the most votes for Best Use of Color, and Avery DeCourcy received the most votes for Best Design. Gift cards to Art Supplies Wholesale were awarded (funded by the Friends of the Library). If the artists allow, all paintings will be on view till the end of August.

 

Summer 2024 - Adventure Begins at Your Library!

Summer programs will run June 22 through August 22. Many of them require registration. Registration opens June 1. To save your spot, visit the Library's Calendar of Events. Click on the workshop you'd like to attend to open the registration form. 

Our online reading challenge in Beanstack begins June 22, and runs for 7 weeks with weekly raffle drawings for gift cards to local businesses. You may enter the challenge at any time during the 7 weeks. The badges you earn in the challenge are entered in each weekly drawing. The more you earn, the better your chance of winning. You earn badges by: logging your reading, writing review(s), and participating in challenge activities.

Celebrate Poetry

April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate by creating your own blackout poem and sharing it with others on our teen bulletin board. It's easy: choose a page (from damaged books) from the box; read it over; decide on a theme; circle your chosen words and blackout the rest. Create something new from something old. For inspiration watch Austin Kleon's TED talk "Steal Like An Artist." It's a creative manifesto based on 10 things he wished he'd heard when he was starting out. Austin is the author of Newspaper Blackout, a book of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. Click this link to find Austin's book, Steal Like An Artist, in our catalog.

 

Eggs, Space, & a Reading Competition

Coming this Spring are three programs to put on your calendar, plus scroll down for a taste of what's on tap so far for the summer.

Register for March Minute Madness, on our Beanstack platform. Beginning March 1st, 23 libraries will compete in a March Madness-inspired reading competition. Help Hamilton-Wenham Library win by logging your reading time on Beanstack during the month of March. Libraries will compete in a bracket-style tournament where the library with the most weekly minutes in each bracket moves to the next round. All reading counts! Hamilton-Wenham patrons who earn challenge badges will be entered in raffles to win small prizes.

 

Ukrainian Egg Workshop for Teens

Wednesday, March 13, 2:30-4:30 pm

Join us for a class on making Ukrainian Eggs!  Presented by Kati Bourque, (Head of Technical Services here at the Hamilton-Wenham Library). This program is open to teens, ages 12 to 18. All supplies will be provided. The class is limited to 15 participants. Registration is required. Wear your getting messy clothes! Click here to register.

Star Gazing, The Moon, & Eclipses

Thursday, April 4, 7:00—9:00 pm 

The evening begins with a 30 minute presentation on Earth's Moon: How it Came to Be and Why We Have Solar and Lunar Eclipses, with NSAAC Star Party Coordinator, Brewster LaMacchia. Following the presentation we'll go outside to look through telescopes provided by volunteers from the NSAAC. Best for ages 10 and up. No registration required. In the case of rain/cloudy weather the star gazing portion of the evening will be postponed till April 16 at 7:30pm. More information here.

This summer there will be a 6 week reading challenge for teens on Beanstack with a weekly raffle drawing for those who earn badges in the challenge. In June: Stop by for a henna tattoo with Mandy of Wicked Good Henna; Enter your graffiti art in a contest via the Graffiti Art Contest workshop, and maybe win a prize: On Saturday, June 29th the amazing staff from Beverly Bikes will be here for a Bicycle Mechanics Workshop. Adventure Begins at Your Library!

Youth Media Awards 2024

Last week, at it's annual conference, the American Library Association announced top books, digital media, video and audio books for children and young adults. The most prestigious, the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults, was given to:“The Collectors: Stories,” edited by A.S. King. Four Honor Books were also named: “Fire from the Sky,” by Moa Backe Åstot, translated by Eva Apelqvist; “Gather,” by Kenneth M. Cadow; “The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption,” by Shannon Gibney; and “Salt the Water,” by Candice Iloh.

“Only This Beautiful Moment,” by Abdi Nazemian is the 2024 recipient of the Stonewall Book Award, for LGBTQIA+ books.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults went to:“Nigeria Jones,” by Ibi Zoboi.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults went to: “Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed,” written by Dashka Slater.  Four other books were finalists: “America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History," written & illustrated by Ariel Aberg-Riger; “Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam,” written & illustrated by Thien Pham; “From Here,” by Luma Mufleh; & “Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself,” by Monica Edinger & Lesley Younge.

The 2024 Alex Awards winners for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens are: “Bad Cree,” by Jessica Johns; “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah; “Chlorine,” by Jade Song; “Fourth Wing,” by Rebecca Yarros; “The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph,” by Oksana Masters; “I Will Greet the Sun Again,” by Khashayar J. Khabushani; “Maame,” by Jessica George; “Starter Villain,” by John Scalzi; “The Talk,” by Darrin Bell; and “Whalefall,” by Daniel Kraus.

Watch the announcements for all of the awards here: